


the third space

by ottermo



Series: out of the cave [2]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Gen, Mike dislikes both of these things, Will is sad and far away
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2019-07-12
Packaged: 2020-06-26 18:50:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19774261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ottermo/pseuds/ottermo
Summary: El isn't always the first to the Byers' phone.Mike usually asks for her more or less straight away, but today, he doesn't.





	the third space

**Author's Note:**

> This is a mess of a thing that possibly doesn't accomplish what I wanted it to, because I possibly derailed it into the realms of autobiography, slightly. But these boys just need to talk. 
> 
> In this fic, Mike is probably straight. He hasn't thought about it much before now, to be fair.
> 
> The title is borrowed from John Green:  
>  _"I was not in my room and he was not in his, but instead we were together in some invisible and tenuous third space that could only be visited on the phone."_

“Hello. Byers’ residence.”

The expectant smile freezes on Mike’s face, not because it’s the wrong voice but because the voice isn’t right.

“Will?”

“Oh, hey, Mike. I’ll get her.”

“No, wait,” says Mike, making a snap decision. “I wanted to talk to you.”

He’s not exactly lying – friends don’t, after all. He might have called to speak to El, but she’s not the only one he misses. Right now she’s not even the one he’s worried about.

“Oh,” says Will. “I’m pretty tired. Maybe another time. El’s just outside—“

“Will.” Mike cuts in. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong.”

“I can tell there’s something.”

The brief silence on the other end confirms his suspicion without lending any clues.

“You can tell me,” Mike continues. “You know you can tell me anything." 

“It’s fine. Don’t worry.”

He huffs, and rephrases: “You can tell me anything except not to worry.”

“I’m asking you not to.”

“Alright. If I promise not to worry, will you tell me what it is that I’m not worried about?”

Another pause. This time when Will’s voice returns, it has a new quality, a genuine plea that, in fairness, almost has the desired effect. “Please, Mike, can we not do this today.”

Mike thinks about it. Tries to remember the last time he had an actual conversation with Will that wasn’t just passing the time of day before El came to the phone. Guiltily, he has to admit that it was probably before the move. No wonder Will’s reluctant now.

He sighs. “I’m a pretty crappy friend, huh.”

“What? No, you’re not.”

This might work. He pushes it a little more. “I am. I never really ask what’s going on with you. I act like you’re me and El’s personal switchboard operator. It’s like we’re not even close anymore and it’s my fault.”

“Don’t say that.”

“It’s true, though.”

“No, it’s not.”

Time to bring it home. “Then why won’t you tell me what’s going on?”

He listens for the sound of defeat.

“Because there’s nothing you can do,” says Will finally. “There’s nothing anyone can do.”

“I can listen,” says Mike. “Try me.”

“Some other time.”

“No. You’ll just keep saying that.”

“You don’t get it,” says Will. “You can’t help with this, Mike, and making me talk about it is just going to make it worse, alright.” He’s talking faster now, and with any luck, it’ll run away with him. “Nobody can do anything about this, least of all you.”

Well, there’s something.

“Least of all me? Why least of all me?”

And now nothing.

“Will?”

“I shouldn’t have said that. Just ignore me.”

“I can’t.”

“You can.”

 _You usually do_ , Mike adds for him, and hates that it’s true, even if Will would never say it out loud.

“Will. Whatever it is. If… if I’m the worst person to tell, can you just… I feel like you need to tell someone.”

“Okay. If I promise to tell someone, will you forget this ever happened?”

“Honestly? No. But I’ll feel, like, zero-point-one percent less terrible about it, if that helps.”

Will makes a strange kind of choking sound that might be a laugh. “It really doesn’t. God, why are you doing this to me today.”

“Are you talking to me, or to God?”

“Whichever of you will listen. I just… you being like this is just making it worse, if anything.”

“Being like what?”

“Being like… nice.”

Ouch. “Am I not always nice?”

“You literally just said that you usually don’t ask me anything.”

“Hey. You said that wasn’t true.”

“Mmm. It kind of is, though. And I don’t mind, even. You just have bad timing. Any other time you want to pretend you called for me instead of El, knock yourself out. Just not today.”

“Do you hear yourself, Byers? How am I supposed to not wonder what that means?”

Will gives a sigh.

“You know what it means.”

“I don’t.”

“Okay. The night we played D&D, the last time. Do you remember what you said?”

Mike’s feels the heat rush to his face at the thought of it. Of course he remembers. He remembers that conversation in awful detail, if only because he wishes it had never happened.

“I was being an asshole that night.”

“I mean, kinda. But you also had a point. And… I don’t know. Today was just hard. Because of that.”

Mike lets it sink in, or tries to. He follows the thread back upwards, now that the subject at hand has finally been identified. _Least of all you_ …

Stone cold in his chest. It hits all the harder because he’d kind of known, all along.

He twists the coiled phone line around his finger. 

“Mike? Are you still there?”

“Yeah.”

“You see why I didn’t want to tell you?”

“Yeah.” Mike swallows. “And for the record, you still haven’t told me, okay? If you don’t want to have done, I mean. I should’ve… this…”

He forces his thoughts into order and starts over. “If it’s what you want, we don’t have to talk about this again until you’re ready. It should be on your terms.”

It's less selfless than it sounds. To be honest, it feels a little like setting it aside. Process it later. But for the most part, he means it sincerely. 

Will is suspiciously silent, as if he’s turned away from the receiver to hide the sound of his breathing.

“Thanks.”

Any gratitude he’d felt before about not having to meet Will’s eyes disintegrates now, and Mike wishes more than anything that he was there in person, hates not being able to reach out. He tangles his fingers further into the cord, for want of something else to do with them.

“So, did someone say something today?” he asks eventually.

“I guess. Just some… mouthbreathers.”

“Oh, El was there, huh.”

“Yeah.”

“She probably wished she could throw them through a wall.”

“Oh, she basically did.”

“Wait, what?”

“Not with her mind. She just pinned this guy up against his locker. The regular way.”

“What!”

“She caught him offguard. But I think it genuinely scared him.”

Mike feels a swell of pride, but tactfully doesn’t voice it. “I hope so.”

The high is undercut abruptly when Will continues, “They waited for me outside the science labs, when she wasn’t there. That was the less good part of the day.”

“Did they hurt you?”

The pause tells him yes. “Not too bad. There were other people around.”

“Will!”

“It’s no big deal.”

“Um, it _is_ a big deal. Did you tell anyone? Like, an adult?”

“I don’t even know the kid’s name.”

“I’m serious, Will. You should tell somebody.”

“Like we told people about Troy?”

Mike considers. “This is different.”

“How?”

“…because…”

“Because you’re not here?”

Unfortunately, that probably is what Mike means.

“Look, you don’t have to worry. I can stay out of his way. I’ll get El to meet me from class before I come outside. For your sake.”

“You should tell your mom, at least.”

“Yeah, because she obviously won’t overreact.”

“No, she’ll just… react.”

“Overly.”

_“Will.”_

“I’ll be careful,” he insists. “And if it happens again, then I’ll tell someone.”

“Do you promise?”

“Fine, I promise. You know this is really hypocritical of you, right? Because if we were at the same high school, you wouldn’t make me tell.”

“But we’re not. So I take my peace of mind where I can find it.” Mike chews his lip. “But it _is_ different. Being bullied because we were nerds was just, like… you know. Inevitable.”

“I’m going to stop you there and remind you that Troy came after Dustin’s literal genetic condition.”

“Yeah, but—”

“And Lucas has had to put up with all kinds of racist stuff.”

“I mean, true…”

“You’re probably the only one who ever got picked on just for being a nerd, Mike. I mean, that and hanging around with us.”

“Huh.”

“You never realised this?”

“I guess not.”

“I swear, if it gets out of control, I’ll do something about it. Or El will.”

“Okay. So long as you do. And… can we do this more?”

“Do what more?”

“You know. Talking. Like friends.”

“We are friends.”

“I know. But it would be nice not to have to manipulate you so much before you’ll tell me stuff.”

Will chuckles despite himself. “We kind of managed to do this without actually… putting words on the thing I didn’t want to say. So… if you really mean that we don’t have to go over it every time, then… this should be easier.”

“Yeah.”

“Thanks, Mike.”

“Nothing to thank me for.”

“I mean for making me talk.”

“I know what you meant, but still.”

“Do you want to speak to El now?”

Mike hesitates. Will adds, “Because, full disclosure, Jonathan has booked the phone line from 6, so you’re running out of time if you want more than ‘hello’. You know how him and Nancy are.”

“Ha. My mom says the phone company doesn’t bother to itemise the calls now. They just charge her the full twenty-four hours a day.”

“Yeah. They’re unstoppable. So, shall I get her?”

“Yeah. Thanks. I have to ask her a favor.”

“...She’s already got my back.”

“I know. She has to have it twice.”

Will laughs a little at that. It makes Mike miss him even more, but it’s still music.

“EL! IT’S FOR YOU!”

In the gap before they swap places, Will says,

“Bye, Mike.”

And Mike says, “Bye, Will. Talk soon.”

And they’re going to.

Phone bill be damned.


End file.
